Dive into the technical aspects of audio on your device, including codecs, format support, and customization options.

Audio Documentation

Posts under Audio subtopic

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Logic Pro - discover channel upstream latency
Hello everyone, I've written an audio unit plugin that needs to be aware of any upstream latency caused by heavy plugins before it on the channel. Is there any way to query this? I know that Logic applies PDC at the channel's output (summing point), but I need to know what the accumulated latency is at the point the audio enters my plugin. Thanks!
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3w
How to disable the built-in speakers and microphone on a Mac
I need to implement a solution through an API or custom driver to completely block out the built-in speakers and microphone of Mac, because I need other apps to use specified external devices as audio input and output. Is there a way to achieve this requirement? What I mean is that even in system preferences, it should not be possible to choose the built-in microphone and speakers; only my external device can be used.
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110
Apr ’25
Issue with Audio Sample Rate Conversion in Video Calls
Hey everyone, I'm encountering an issue with audio sample rate conversion that I'm hoping someone can help with. Here's the breakdown: Issue Description: I've installed a tap on an input device to convert audio to an optimal sample rate. There's a converter node added on top of this setup. The problem arises when joining Zoom or FaceTime calls—the converter gets deallocated from memory, causing the program to crash. Symptoms: The converter node is being deallocated during video calls. The program crashes entirely when this happens. Traditional methods of monitoring sample rate changes (tracking nominal or actual sample rates) aren't working as expected. The Big Challenge: I can't figure out how to properly monitor sample rate changes. Listeners set up to track these changes don't trigger when the device joins a Zoom or FaceTime call. Please, if anyone has experience with this or knows a solution, I'd really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance! ⁠
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84
Apr ’25
How to detect when iOS Camera app starts video recording (with Allow Audio Playback ON)?
Since iOS 18, the system setting “Allow Audio Playback” (enabled by default) allows third-party app audio to continue playing while the user is recording video with the Camera app. This has created a problem for the app I’m developing. ➡️ The problem: My app plays continuous audio in both foreground and background states. If the user starts recording video using the iOS Camera app, the app’s audio — still playing in the background — gets captured in the video — obviously an unintended behavior. Yes, the user could stop the app manually before starting the video recording, but that can’t be guaranteed. As a developer, I need a way to stop the app’s audio before the video recording begins. So far, I haven’t found a reliable way to detect when video recording starts if ‘Allow Audio Playback’ is ON. ➡️ What I’ve tried: — AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification → doesn’t fire — devicesChangedEventStream → not triggered I don’t want to request mic permission (app doesn’t use mic). also, disabling the app from playing audio in the background isn’t an option as it is a crucial part of the user experience ➡️ What I need: A reliable, supported way to detect when the Camera app begins video recording, without requiring mic access — so I can stop audio and avoid unintentional overlap with the user’s recordings. Any official guidance, workarounds, or AVFoundation techniques would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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245
Aug ’25
SpeechAnalyzer > AnalysisContext lack of documentation
I'm using the new SpeechAnalyzer framework to detect certain commands and want to improve accuracy by giving context. Seems like AnalysisContext is the solution for this, but couldn't find any usage example. So I want to make sure that I'm doing it right or not. let context = AnalysisContext() context.contextualStrings = [ AnalysisContext.ContextualStringsTag("commands"): [ "set speed level", "set jump level", "increase speed", "decrease speed", ... ], AnalysisContext.ContextualStringsTag("vocabulary"): [ "speed", "jump", ... ] ] try await analyzer.setContext(context) With this implementation, it still gives outputs like "Set some speed level", "It's speed level", etc. Also, is it possible to make it expect number after those commands, in order to eliminate results like "set some speed level to" (instead of two).
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Can't set AVAudio sampleRate and installTap needs bufferSize 4800 at minimum
Two issues: No matter what I set in try audioSession.setPreferredSampleRate(x) the sample rate on both iOS and macOS is always 48000 when the output goes through the speaker, and 24000 when my Airpods connect to an iPhone/iPad. Now, I'm checking the current output loudness to animate a 3D character, using mixerNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: y, format: nil) { [weak self] buffer, time in Task { @MainActor in // calculate rms and animate character accordingly but any buffer size under 4800 is just ignored and the buffers I get are 4800 sized. This is ok, when the sampleRate is currently 48000, as 10 samples per second lead to decent visual results. But when AirPods connect, the samplerate is 24000, which means only 5 samples per second, so the character animation looks lame. My AVAudioEngine setup is the following: audioEngine.connect(playerNode, to: pitchShiftEffect, format: format) audioEngine.connect(pitchShiftEffect, to: mixerNode, format: format) audioEngine.connect(mixerNode, to: audioEngine.outputNode, format: nil) Now, I'd be fine if the outputNode runs at whatever if it needs, as long as my tap would get at least 10 samples per second. PS: Specifying my favorite format in the let format = AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: 48_000, channels: 2)! mixerNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: y, format: format) doesn't change anything either
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380
Aug ’25
Sound not working on testflight / Appstore
I have a flutter iOS app that has some simple sound FX for button clicks, swipes, etc. In simulator and on real device the sound works fine, but when i upload the app to testflight (and App store) the sound FX don't play. When I upload the app to my phone via xcode I am using the release profile so I don't see what the difference could be. I have also gone through the archive that i uploaded and verified that the sound files are indeed there. I have other flutter apps that use sound but non since the iOS 26 update. I've tried 3 different flutter sound libraries and all face the same issue. Wondering if anyone else is seeing this issue or if I'm missing a simple permission or something that has changed recently? Thanks in advanced
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Dec ’25
Intermittent Memory Leak Indicated in Simulator When Using AVAudioEngine with mainMixerNode Only
Hello, I'm observing an intermittent memory leak being reported in the iOS Simulator when initializing and starting an AVAudioEngine. Even with minimal setup—just attaching a single AVAudioPlayerNode and connecting it to the mainMixerNode—Xcode's memory diagnostics and Instruments sometimes flag a leak. Here is a simplified version of the code I'm using: // This function is called when the user taps a button in the view controller: #import "ViewController.h" @interface ViewController () @end @implementation ViewController - (void)viewDidLoad { [super viewDidLoad]; } - (IBAction)myButtonAction:(id)sender { NSLog(@"Test"); soundCreate(); } @end // media.m static AVAudioEngine *audioEngine = nil; void soundCreate(void) { if (audioEngine != nil) return; [[AVAudioSession sharedInstance] setCategory:AVAudioSessionCategoryAmbient error:nil]; [[AVAudioSession sharedInstance] setActive:YES error:nil]; audioEngine = [[AVAudioEngine alloc] init]; AVAudioPlayerNode* playerNode = [[AVAudioPlayerNode alloc] init]; [audioEngine attachNode:playerNode]; [audioEngine connect:playerNode to:(AVAudioNode *)[audioEngine mainMixerNode] format:nil]; [audioEngine startAndReturnError:nil]; } In the memory leak report, the following call stack is repeated, seemingly in a loop: ListenerMap::InsertEvent(XAudioUnitEvent const&, ListenerBinding*) AudioToolboxCore ListenerMap::AddParameter(AUListener*, void*, XAudioUnitEvent const&) AudioToolboxCore AUListenerAddParameter AudioToolboxCore addOrRemoveParameterListeners(OpaqueAudioComponentInstance*, AUListenerBase*, AUParameterTree*, bool) AudioToolboxCore 0x180178ddf
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Apr ’25
AudioQueue Output fails playing audio almost immediately?
On macOS Sequoia, I'm having the hardest time getting this basic audio output to work correctly. I'm compiling in XCode using C99, and when I run this, I get audio for a split second, and then nothing, indefinitely. Any ideas what could be going wrong? Here's a minimum code example to demonstrate: #include <AudioToolbox/AudioToolbox.h> #include <stdint.h> #define RENDER_BUFFER_COUNT 2 #define RENDER_FRAMES_PER_BUFFER 128 // mono linear PCM audio data at 48kHz #define RENDER_SAMPLE_RATE 48000 #define RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT 1 #define RENDER_BUFFER_BYTE_COUNT (RENDER_FRAMES_PER_BUFFER * RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT * sizeof(f32)) void RenderAudioSaw(float* outBuffer, uint32_t frameCount, uint32_t channelCount) { static bool isInverted = false; float scalar = isInverted ? -1.f : 1.f; for (uint32_t frame = 0; frame < frameCount; ++frame) { for (uint32_t channel = 0; channel < channelCount; ++channel) { // series of ramps, alternating up and down. outBuffer[frame * channelCount + channel] = 0.1f * scalar * ((float)frame / frameCount); } } isInverted = !isInverted; } AudioStreamBasicDescription coreAudioDesc = { 0 }; AudioQueueRef coreAudioQueue = NULL; AudioQueueBufferRef coreAudioBuffers[RENDER_BUFFER_COUNT] = { NULL }; void coreAudioCallback(void* unused, AudioQueueRef queue, AudioQueueBufferRef buffer) { // 0's here indicate no fancy packet magic AudioQueueEnqueueBuffer(queue, buffer, 0, 0); } int main(void) { const UInt32 BytesPerSample = sizeof(float); coreAudioDesc.mSampleRate = RENDER_SAMPLE_RATE; coreAudioDesc.mFormatID = kAudioFormatLinearPCM; coreAudioDesc.mFormatFlags = kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsFloat | kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsPacked; coreAudioDesc.mBytesPerPacket = RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT * BytesPerSample; coreAudioDesc.mFramesPerPacket = 1; coreAudioDesc.mBytesPerFrame = RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT * BytesPerSample; coreAudioDesc.mChannelsPerFrame = RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT; coreAudioDesc.mBitsPerChannel = BytesPerSample * 8; coreAudioQueue = NULL; OSStatus result; // most of the 0 and NULL params here are for compressed sound formats etc. result = AudioQueueNewOutput(&coreAudioDesc, &coreAudioCallback, NULL, 0, 0, 0, &coreAudioQueue); if (result != noErr) { assert(false == "AudioQueueNewOutput failed!"); abort(); } for (int i = 0; i < RENDER_BUFFER_COUNT; ++i) { uint32_t bufferSize = coreAudioDesc.mBytesPerFrame * RENDER_FRAMES_PER_BUFFER; result = AudioQueueAllocateBuffer(coreAudioQueue, bufferSize, &(coreAudioBuffers[i])); if (result != noErr) { assert(false == "AudioQueueAllocateBuffer failed!"); abort(); } } for (int i = 0; i < RENDER_BUFFER_COUNT; ++i) { RenderAudioSaw(coreAudioBuffers[i]->mAudioData, RENDER_FRAMES_PER_BUFFER, RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT); coreAudioBuffers[i]->mAudioDataByteSize = coreAudioBuffers[i]->mAudioDataBytesCapacity; AudioQueueEnqueueBuffer(coreAudioQueue, coreAudioBuffers[i], 0, 0); } AudioQueueStart(coreAudioQueue, NULL); sleep(10); // some time to hear the audio AudioQueueStop(coreAudioQueue, true); AudioQueueDispose(coreAudioQueue, true); return 0; }
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Sep ’25
MusicKit Web Playback States
In MusicKit Web the playback states are provided as numbers. For example the playbackStateDidChange event listener will return: {oldState: 2, state: 3, item:...} When the state changes from playing (2) to paused (3). Those are pretty easy to guess, but I'm having a hard time with some of the others: completed, ended, loading, none, paused, playing, seeking, stalled, stopped, waiting. I cannot find a mapping of states to numbers documented anywhere. I got the above states from an enum in a d.ts file that is often incorrect/incomplete. Can someone help out pointing to the docs or provide a mapping? Thanks.
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440
Feb ’25
APNs
{ "aps": { "content-available": 1 }, "audio_file_name": "ding.caf", "audio_url": "https://example.com/audio.mp3" } When the app is in the background or killed, it receives a remote APNs push. The data format is roughly as shown above. How can I play the MP3 audio file at the specified "audio_url"? The user does not need to interact with the device when receiving the APNs. How can I play the audio file immediately after receiving it?
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227
Oct ’25
AirPods Pro 3 Disconnecting from Apple Ultra 3 consistently
I have both apple devices, AirPods Pro 3 is up to date and Ultra 3 is on watch os 26.1 latest public beta. Each morning when I would go on my mindfulness app and start a meditation or listen to Apple Music on my watch and AirPods Pro 3, it will play for a few seconds then disconnects. My bluetooth settings on my watch says my AirPods is connected to my watch. I also have removed the tick about connecting automatically to iPhone on the AirPods setting in my iPhone. To fix this I invariably turn off my Apple Watch Ultra 3 and turn it on again. Then the connection becomes stable. I am not sure why I have to do this each morning. It is frustrating. I am not sure why this fix does not last long? Is there something wrong with my AirPods? Has anyone encountered this before?
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593
Oct ’25
Ducking MusicKit output when playing another sound
I am developing an app that uses MusicKit to play music and then I need to have spoken words played to the user, while ducking the audio coming from MusicKit (application music player) the built in Siri voices are not off sufficient quality so I am using an external service to create an mp3 file and then play this back using AVAudioSession Sample code below the problem I am having is that .duckOthers is not ducking the Application Music Player output Is this a bug or am I doing this wrong? // Configure audio session for system-wide ducking try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setCategory(.playback, mode: .spokenAudio, options: [.duckOthers, .mixWithOthers]) try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true) // Set the ducking level to maximum try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setPreferredIOBufferDuration(0.005) // Create and configure audio player self.audioPlayer = try AVAudioPlayer(data: audioData) self.audioPlayer?.delegate = self self.audioPlayer?.volume = 1.0 // Ensure full volume for speech self.audioPlayer?.prepareToPlay() // Set the audio player's settings for maximum clarity self.audioPlayer?.enableRate = false self.audioPlayer?.pan = 0.0 // Center the audio self.audioPlayer?.play()
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56
Apr ’25
How to record voice, auto-transcribe, translate (auto-detect input language), and play back translated audio on same device in iOS Swift?
Hi everyone 👋 I’m building an iOS app in Swift where I want to do the following: Record the user’s voice Transcribe the spoken sentence (speech-to-text) Auto-detect the spoken language Translate it to another language selected by the user (e.g., English → Spanish or Hindi → English) Speak back (text-to-speech) the translated text on the same device Is this possible to record via phone mic and play the transcribe voice into headphone's audio?
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239
Oct ’25
issue in recording using AVAudio
Hi, In my project I am using AVFoundation for recording the audio. We are using AVAudioMixerNode class below method to record the audio packet. **func installTap( onBus bus: AVAudioNodeBus, bufferSize: AVAudioFrameCount, format: AVAudioFormat?, block tapBlock: @escaping AVAudioNodeTapBlock ) ** It works perfectly fine. But in production env some small percentage of the user we are facing issue like after recording few packets it stops automatically without stopping the audio engine. Can anyone help here that why this happens? I have also observed for mediaServicesWereResetNotification and added log on receiving this notification but when this issue happens I don't see any occurence of this log. Also is there any callback when the engine stops?
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122
Apr ’25
About the built-in instrument sound of Apple devices
Does anyone know how to pronounce the sound of a specific instrument when you tap a button on the screen on your iPhone or iPad? Now, in the middle of creating a music learning app, I'm thinking of assigning monotones or chords to the button-like frames on the keyboard and fingerboard on the screen. Can it be achieved with SwiftUI chords alone? Once upon a time, MIDI level 1 I remember that there was a pronunciation function of the instrument, but I don't think about implementing the same function in the current OS. Please lend me your wisdom.
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58
May ’25